


sticks and stones may break my bones, but you could never hurt me

by Littlecupofmocha



Category: The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide attempt, M/M, minewt, minho is stressed and upset and scared and newt comforts him :'), pre-thomas, this is shorter than i wanted it to be but i hope it helps fill the void of minewt content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:27:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28160907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Littlecupofmocha/pseuds/Littlecupofmocha
Summary: “Min, darling, I’m not upset with you, I promise.”Minho could only shut his eyes.“….were you afraid to tell me because of my attempt?”orMinho sustains an injury while running and has to tell Newt there's nothing left to map
Relationships: Minho/Newt (Maze Runner)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 38
Collections: Maze Runner Secret Santa 2020





	sticks and stones may break my bones, but you could never hurt me

Minho limped through the doors with minutes to spare, immediately spotting Newt seated in the grass a few meters away, eyes trained on the ground and fingers anxiously creating tiny braids in the hairs he hadn’t been able to gather into his short ponytail. 

And though Minho fully intended to make his way to the medjacks while bringing as little attention to himself as possible, the rock he stepped on with the foot belonging to the ankle he rolled earlier said otherwise. He yelped as he fell to the ground, embarrassed at the mental image of himself collapsing with arms flailing, and tried to pull himself back up before anyone could panic, but the damage had been done, and Newt was jogging over and calling his name. 

“Minho! What happened? Are you alright? You barely made it back today, I was- what happened?” Newt held his hand out to Minho and heaved him up, the both of them breathless.

Minho laughed softly. “Thought you hated it when people asked so many questions.” 

Newt rolled his eyes and looked down at their hands still clasped together. He ran his thumb over the back of Minho’s hand a few times before looking back up, eyes full of concern. He spoke in a hushed voice. 

“I mean it, Min, I was…really worried. You haven’t had that close a call since…...I can’t even remember. Almost a year, probably.”

Minho sighed and brought his other hand up to cover Newt’s. “I rolled my ankle out in section 5. Forgot how suddenly that one path gets all uneven and tripped. Nothing else happened, it just took me longer than expected to get back."

Newt ran a hand through his hair. "Alright, I forgive you, I guess. Now c'mon," He said, gesturing to the medjack tent. "I don't trust you to get fixed up on your own."

Minho let out an exaggerated groan. "Ughhh, you're so full of clunk, you know that?" 

Newt punched him lightly on the shoulder. "You're so annoying, do  _ you _ know that?" 

"Me? Annoying?? That's impossible." 

Newt shook his head as he held out his arm to Minho, waiting as the runner worked out the best way to brace himself against him so they could make their way to Clint and Jeff.

_____

"I better not see you so much as briskly strolling on that foot for the next four weeks." 

Newt sat beside Minho on one of the few cots present in the medjack tent, frowning, eyes fixed on Minho's bandaged foot. Minho was lying back on the cot and propped himself up on his elbows.

“Look, I just can’t afford to just not run for a whole month. I can’t abandon the other guys and leave them without a keeper! The four of us alone isn’t enough as it is.” He let himself flop back down and threw an arm over his face.

“Hey,” Newt said, scooting his chair closer to the cot. “I’m sure Alby wouldn’t mind running at least half the time, alright? Every other day or somethin. I’ll ask him tonight, everything’ll be fine. If you don’t stay off your foot, it won’t heal properly. Trust me, I know. So promise me you’ll take it easy, hm? Let someone else handle things for a while.”

Minho didn’t move. 

“Minho.”

“...”

“Min.” Newt shook the boy’s shoulder. “Min, is that good with you?”

Minho let out a shaky breath and slowly pulled his arm down just enough so that his eyes were visible. They were watery. 

Newt moved from the chair to the cot and took Minho’s hand for the second time that day. “What’s wrong? Do you need me to get Jeff?”

Minho shook his head. “No, I- I’ve been keeping something from you and Alby.” He flicked his gaze to the side. “The maze has all been mapped. We- we haven’t been able to make any other progress, so we’ve just been running it again.”

Newt’s free hand came up to cover his mouth, eyes moving frantically as he tried to take in this new information. They’d been here for over a year now, working the little land they had and struggling to maintain order all with the hope that they’d one day escape the maze. That they’d soon be able to confront the bastard creators who put them in this mess in the first place and return to whatever way of life they must have had prior to waking up in the Box. All the friends they’d lost purely due to accident, Newt’s own “accident”......they’d all been holding on to one thing. Escape. Everything would be easier to process, forget about, if they could just get out of the maze. And here Minho was telling him the whole team of runners could see no way out, and, if Newt knew Minho, they hadn’t for several weeks now. 

Minho sat up and gripped Newt’s hand like a lifeline as apologies tumbled out of his mouth. “I’m sorry, I- I know how serious this is, and I shouldn’t have kept it from you, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell you that we’re  _ stuck  _ here, Newt. We’re. We’re genuinely  _ stuck,  _ and I have no idea where to go from here, and I hate myself for it. I want to get us all out, I want to get  _ you  _ out, I’m sick of this place and everything that’s come with it. I’m- I don’t know if- I didn’t know how to tell you.” He ended quietly. 

Newt dragged his gaze up to meet Minho’s only to find tears running down his cheeks, and it hit Newt that this was probably about more than just guilt over keeping it from the first and second in command. 

Newt cupped Minho’s face, using his thumbs to wipe the tears away before gently pressing a kiss to his nose. 

“Min, darling, I’m not upset with you, I promise.” 

Minho could only shut his eyes. 

“….were you afraid to tell me because of my attempt?”

Minho nodded, a small sob escaping his lips as he did so. Newt pulled him in close to his chest and the other boy immediately burst into tears. Painful, gasping sobs shook his whole body as he latched onto the front of Newt’s shirt, a voice at the back of his mind telling him he needed to shut up before someone nearby heard him and realized the keeper of the runners was having a breakdown. 

Newt blinked rapidly in an attempt to keep his own tears from spilling. Minho rarely cried. Hadn't cried this hard, at least in front of anyone, as long as Newt had known him, usually preferring to run until he'd worked out whatever was bothering him. He'd cried a few times while Newt was recovering, but maybe some leftover emotions had finally made their way out from under wherever Minho had buried them. Given the stress he was constantly under, something like this shouldn't have been so surprising. 

When Minho had sufficiently quieted, Newt spoke. "Min, I made you a promise then, I'm not gonna break it now. I swear, I'm not gonna leave you, okay?" 

Minho wrapped his arms around Newt's torso and buried his head into the crook of Newt's neck. He cleared his throat before speaking, voice ragged. 

"I wouldn't blame you if you did. It's not fair for me to ask you to stay, not when it's all so horrible. I'm sorry I can’t figure this out." 

"Minho," Newt pulled away until he was able to look the boy in the face. "You're doing all you can. And before you say that you should be faster or work longer, no. You're doing more than enough already, darling. And no matter what happens, even if we never get out of here, I'm staying with you. I-” Newt swallowed. “ _ I love you _ . Alright?"

Minho's mouth fell open and several seconds passed by before he could speak. 

"You- what?"

Newt bit back a smile. “You heard me.”

Minho sat up, disbelief in his eyes. “No, no, you- say that again.”

Newt laughed as he brought their foreheads together. “I said I love you, Min.”

And then Minho was hastily pulling Newt in for a kiss, a deep, desperate one that communicated everything better than anything either of them could say in the moment. It was a bit sloppy, their rhythm was off and their teeth clashed. But it didn’t matter, not when this unspoken thing between them had finally been acknowledged. Not when Minho was finally able to collapse in relief at the knowledge that Newt felt the same way he did. Maybe Newt was right, maybe it would all be okay. 

_____

  
  


That night the two of them slept together in Newt’s bed in the homestead, squished together to fit despite the heat. The blanket covering them clung to their slightly sweaty skin, and Minho brushed Newt’s bangs out of his eyes, letting his fingers trail through the still-damp hair. They both had showered after dinner and decided to turn in earlier than usual. Newt was nearly asleep.

“Hey,” Minho whispered after untangling a knot. “Thanks for, uh, being the first to say something earlier.”

“Hmm, ‘bout what?” Newt mumbled. 

“Ugh, don’t make me say it.”

Newt cracked an eye open. “For someone so loud, it takes so much to get you to admit anything. Course I had to be first, you slinthead.”

“Hey! I’m not loud.”

Newt laughed softly. “You’re shouting in my ear as we speak, go to sleep, bug.”

Minho blushed at the nickname, thankful it was too dark for Newt to see just how much it affected him. He inched closer to the other boy. 

“I am thankful though, for you. And…...I love you, too.”

Newt tossed an arm over Minho’s side and pulled him into his chest, resting his hand at the base of his neck. He pressed a kiss to the top of his head. 

“I sincerely hope you’re blushing right now.” 

Minho groaned and buried his head into Newt’s chest. He could feel him snickering. “You’re so mean to me.”

Newt kissed him again and rubbed his back a few times. “I’m just kidding, love. But if you are, that’s very cute. We should sleep, though. Gardeners start shortly after the runners leave.”

“Ooh, I can’t wait for you to show me how to dig in the dirt.”

“Hm, there is a science to it.”

“So are my nails gonna look as bad as yours do all the time?”

“Oh hooo, slim-it before I hide all the gloves from you.”

Minho laughed before pressing one last kiss to Newt’s chest and curling into him for the night. He was right, things were okay. A minor setback wouldn’t screw over all chances of escape, they’d get out eventually. And even if they didn’t, they still had each other. For now, all they could do was continue on, and if that meant tending to crops with Newt for a few weeks, who was Minho to complain? Yeah, they’d be alright. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  



End file.
